The Word Charity has the following meaning according to the Oxford dictionary

An organization set up to provide help and raise money for those in need

The body of organizations viewed collectively as the object of fundraising or of donations

The voluntary giving of help, typically in the form of money, to those in need.

No where it mentions that it is to become a business and that too a Multi Billion pound business, The executives or the board members earning a 6 figure salary. These well-paid bosses of some good causes are nothing but ‘incompetent or wilfully blind’.

Some of the charities use tactics that are so brutal , an undercover report recently showed how the staff were ordered to be ‘brutal’ and ‘ferocious’ when asking for cash and told even the old and poor ‘have no excuse’ not to give.

The reason for this post is what happened last week although it probably shows how weak a person I am, but still I do blame the pressure tactics used.

Last week I was watching a Tv show and in the break there was a ad on how the children are suffering in Africa because of need for safe Water facilities. It was a normal ad that they show for various other charities, asking us to Txt a particular number with the word Water. So they can deduct 3 pounds from the account when the phone bill comes.

I did that and forgot about it , only to be reminded two days later by a txt that how thankful they are for the support blahdy blah.. T0 my surprise I also got a Phone call from some call centre but this time it was a tad bit different, The gentleman first wanted to explain to me what the charity #WATERAID did, how it was helping thanks to the people who were donating, Slowly the conversation changed to how good it would be if people could donate more often.

The person asked me if I would volunteer to pay some money every month Via direct Debit, I said I have donated what I could afford and wanted to since charity is a Voluntary thing, when I had more money I will do that again, But that did not stop the person on the other end to give up, He carried on with the sales pitch, playing on all the emotions that one could .. What if it was My kids or what if it was kids that I know of etc et, How water is so important, How since it is not safe water diseases are coming up.

He started from 12 or 15 pounds a month to start with, I made an excuse that I will think about it after march when I have had my Pay review , to which he was quick to say no issues we can set the direct debit that will start from March and Not January.

From 15 we went to 12 then to 10 and then in the end he came to 6 pounds a month, by this time I was completely made to realise what a SICK HEARTLESS person I am who can’t even pay that much to help in easing the suffering of the little children.

I ended up giving my bank details and setting a Direct debit.. NOW the reason for the post is that IS THIS RIGHT. I am sort of forced to dish out money, Should these charities be calling like that, The whole Idea of the AD was to txt. a word and voluntarily pay a charity that was working for the good of the people.

This did not end here Since last Monday I have had at least 4 to 5 calls from various charities that are trying to help asking me if I could help, Have had Txt messages asking to reply to them if I wanted to donate 3 pounds or 5 pounds for various needs. How have they got hold of my number is a mystery.

Charity-donation etc is a personal issue why should we be getting cold calls from call centres trying to sell CHARITY. This has left a bad taste, I have just only managed to get rid of another charity that has been hounding me in-spite of a direct debit set up for some money, now they want me to increase the amount. I get at least half a dozen brochures, Letters everyday, With pictures of sick children who are suffering.

I mean is that right to have the tragedy that these kids are going through to be used like this to make money. The worst thing is that the whole of the amount that is generated is not used for the good of the people, Why does a CHARITY head or executive have a SIX FIGURE salary, I work 10 to 12 hours a Day, and then on Rest days I work overtime to make more money, My salary still does not add up to QUARTER of what these executives get.

I can also bet my life that these executives don’t even have a direct debit set up for a few pounds to go to charity. Recently some of the leading charities have been exposed with these WRONG methods, it does put to shame the word CHARITY. I have a few direct debits set up and Now I am thinking of cancelling all of them, Am I really doing any Good or am I just helping in paying the Salaries of these Executives and other office bearers.

Looks like an organised business rather than a charity to me. You should have said sorry and disconnected the phone. I believe in helping people first hand. If I know a poor family in my village, I would support them instead of giving it to unknown people.

I think you should cancel all the direct debits. It’s clear that large charity organizations are taking advantage of our compassion. If you want to do something, you should go find a good organization and do something yourself, like volunteering. If a charity organization contacts you for money, it’s not a good sign at all.

I would say ,unless u see from ur own eyes do not give to charity. And that is why i always donate or buy stuff myself and not give money to anyone. Do what ur heart agrees to. Cancel if u want. U cn always start agin tomorrow.

sorry to read about your experience but it is common
I will suggest pay only going through all the details and even post here and ask blogger friends about the organization whom you want to pay , want to donate money.

Some people like to spend time, instead of money. Some people do not have the luxury to do either. Perhaps, the next time we decide to spend either time or money to any organization, we should be asking them how we can see how the money was spent. Many people donate money, not just because they want to do good, but because they want to invest in something they care about, with tax exemption. There’s one organization that kept calling me and I had to threaten them not to. We should definitely be wary of any organization we get involved with. Whether it is time, money, or our skills.

Oh yes definitely asking the questions is the way forward.. and maybe just maybe they will actually start to do the work properly. I think thats what i need to do Threaten them to not call me but now what has happened the details of supporters have been sold on , and call centres set up where cold calls are done all the time …

I have started to believe in service by time than by money long time ago.. Have had bitter taste in the past.. May be I should make a post about my experience.. Thanks for the fodder Bikram.. I am really not able to help you decide if you should stop the direct debits.. Do whatever your heart says..

I think rather than giving money to charity the best option is to volunteer on weekends. You help people and see for yourself if you are able to do any larger good to them. All of us prefer giving money because we think that charity as something we got to do and rather than giving out time to help people, we give money to these huge charities, where we don’t even know if they are helping them out. A few years back two people came from charity asking for charity for orphan kids and asked him to give the educational expenses of the child. My grandpa asked the address of the child and said that he rather give the money directly to the family. He said that this wasn’t the part of their policy and cannot do that.
After that I learnt a lesson, rather than money give your time. It is more helpful. Also, there is a charity I found few days ago. I am thinking about volunteering. “Khalsa Aid”, it is said to help people worldwide and CEO personally goes to all foreign aid mission. They seem legit to me.

You have a very valid point, I used to do that a lot but with time things have changed , other responsibilities have come up, dont get much time to do it anymore 😦
and Khalsa aid , I have not heard about it , will check it up for sure.. and it sure looks legit…

yes thats the most reliable but with all other responsibilities etc everyone cant just leave everything and go to help.. hence charities come into picture but they do what they do and that is what is irritating

Brutal truth! Initially I did donate for an organization but after several calls from them to donate more, the very idea felt irritating to me. Best form of charity that I believe is one that we do directly. If you can directly help a needy person and know that your money has been gone to the right person and not to some third party in between, we can get some satisfaction

Dont worry, making you feel like a heartless person is what these people who call us asking for charity aim for, and dont fall prey to it. Given the number of corruption cases that happen, I really dont contribute for charity, I try (as much possible) to meet the affected party and donate directly or donate only for reputed organizations that have a reputation. I’d like to believe that whatever little I’m donating reaches the right hands instead of sponsoring some executive’s vacation.

Thank you. I think that is the best way meeting those who you want to help, I dont trust the charities anymore especially after the recent pallava we have had In uk and how its come out , people are being trained to target people for more money.

well holidays etc is what is number one priority for these charities …

I’ve had those calls too and it puts me off that charity completely. I hate to be arm twisted into giving money. There are also those door to door people with books and CDs and encyclopaedias – all for a good cause. I’ve learnt to say a firm no most often. Yet there are times I’m caught unawares and end up donating when I have no intention too. Nope you’re not a weak person these people can be pretty pushy.

I agree with many comments above – trying to help people we are in contact with is probably better than donating money – unless it is some well reputed international org that has a long, established track record of truly helping those in need.
My preferred way of helping is – I give away all my children’s outgrown clothes and books every year. I run a support group for families with autism. I give away any unwanted furniture and outgrown bikes, etc. to my gardner’s family. I take my kids to volunteering events like park cleanups.

Yes it is true. All charities are well reputed because they spend so much money on making sure their name is everywhere, but hardly any charity actually spends all the money they get to help. You are definitely doing beautiful Work. Hats off to you.

Thank you Bikramjit. I think you already do your part helping those around you.
You are probably right – the bigger orgs also spend money to support so many employees with fantastic salaries which doesn’t make sense in the non-profit world.

It depends on why you are doing it in the first place. Charity starts at home. We see a lot of uneducated children and people in need of help around us. If you are donating to save on tax, of course these organizations are a good way to achieve it. If you are donating because you have some surplus and can afford to, then of course, look around you and you’ll see a lot of people you can help !

IT DOES.. always starts from home yes. I live in UK and with the amount I earn it hardly makes a difference on saving tax.. saving tax only helps those who earn mega bucks, I dont think i even come in that bracket to even afford to ask hmrc if i can save tax 🙂 …

Which again is quiet strange those who earn MEGA bucks also want a tax relief 🙂

I cant afford anything , the post was more of how the charities work ..

Welcome here to this blog, thank you so much for visiting .. Pease do keep visiting…

I feel you should cancel them unless you are convinced that they are reaching the needy ones. I faced similar situation one day when some representatives from a reputed NGO came down to our office for spreading the word about their work & asking for donations. The first time I wrote them a cheque quite happily; feeling good about doing my bit. The next year when they came back, I said I am not interested as I have already chosen an organisation with whom I want to be associated with. They were persistent & used the same tactic like you have mentioned. And then I had to be a lil’ rough and say it on their face that charity is something which is done voluntarily, you cannot & should not force or try to convince anyone to do so. And after that, I saw them in my office but they never came back to me.

Well I can say 100% truthfully that all of it never reaches the needy ones.. the amount of expenses the charities do and nowadays the need to be better than the other charity , the advertisements etc so much money is spent on that which if spent on those who need desperately would do a lot of good.

It is the same , suddenly we become the bad ones… it is such a shame that people who run these charities have such a big EGO

I can completely understand how you feel as I have felt exactly the same on a few occasions. We want to help in the best way we can and though the best way to help is directly, we probably dont have the time to do that. So we try to donate money as much as we can. But charity has also become a business and we cannot really figure who is doing it in a noble way. I recently read an article about the top charity organizations in the world and how much percentage of the charity actually goes towards the cause and how much goes towards the organization’s upkeep and the pockets of its executives. And I was completely shocked.

You are right with everything going on it gets hard to find time, and you read it correctly most of the charities NEVER give all to what the money is given for. and whats more wrong is that the executives earn so much money, where is there part of charity should they not do some work free.. after all its for the good of the people but most of them earn handsome 6 digit salaries , I wish i earn that much.

It is a shame that some of the BIG names nspcc-redcross-wateraid -etc etc are all at it

Yes.. very true.. Charity is something that comes from inside and shouldn’t be forced on anyone. And when one gets overboard, it kind of pisses off..
When one should be feeling glad about doing charity, one ends up regretting such a noble thing..

I feel so irritated when I am asked to donate money by calls and emails from organizations I donated to. I just feel like are they greedy or what. I also have no affirmation that the money is reaching where it should. sucks ethical transparency is not there.

I used get calls before … but now that I donate for a cause close to my heart, I tell them I am already involved, they don’t make me feel that terrible. There was a time when I stopped receiving calls from unknown numbers for the fear of speaking to the charities that coerce you into donating. I don’t even know how to handle them… it’s so hard to say no in these cases.

Well what i have started doing now is putting a block list and every time a call like that comes i add the number to it , so they cant call me next time .. 🙂 EXACTLY so hard to say no especially when they start telling stories and then the haggling starts give 12 pounds ok make it 9 what if its 6 or 4 etc etc etc .. I am so SCARED to pick a un recognised number now ..

That’s the problem Bikram and you are not alone here in succumbing to pressures such as these causewe too have experienced just the same.
Now have become ‘heartless’ in one way as you would put it…if being charitable means answering such calls and obliging.
Taking it as a lesson enjoy the unexplained kind of satisfaction mixed with joy in sharing and doing good nevertheless maybe like those squirrels who bury nuts and then forget where they hid them. Yeah i hope you know this that millions of trees are planted accidentally by this self centered action of these squirrels 🙂 🙂 .
Thank you also for stopping by at my post and gracing the comment page with ur kind words.
Affections is what i feel for you my blogdost 🙂

I am very late in reading this post, but thankfully I did. As I was reading the first question that came to my mind is why did you share your bank details? This is a lesson for all of us not to do so. I myself have given in to such requests when people directly come home for a donation but setting up a direct debit could be risky.
We all should be empathetic but not at the cost of being coerced by others to do something.

When I lived in the US, we would often get these charity calls etc. I had a standard reply prepared – I choose my own charities where I want to donate, so please don’t bother selling me yours. I have a sort of an aversion to such kind of charitable business marketing.

The cold calling has started in India too and it gets me so uncomfortable! But I stay firm, I usually say I have already donated to the charities I wish and I have no more budget which is true as well!

That is what we call emotional blackmailing. They sense as to what the other person is upto, and if you show any interest, they don’t let you go off easily.
I pay too, but whenever and whatever i feel like. Never share your bank account details, no matter what!